Illinois loses safety Supo Sanni for the season

Friday

Aug 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMAug 27, 2010 at 2:38 AM

The question mark on defense just got bigger for the Illinois football defense. With junior safety Supo Sanni lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon during practice Wednesday and the dismissal of cornerback Walt Aikens by the university, the defensive backfield needed a shuffle and a raid on the offensive depth chart with Missouri and talented quarterback Blaine Gabbert just around the corner.

John Supinie

The question mark on defense just got bigger for the Illinois football defense.

With junior safety Supo Sanni lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon during practice Wednesday and the dismissal of cornerback Walt Aikens by the university, the defensive backfield needed a shuffle and a raid on the offensive depth chart with Missouri and talented quarterback Blaine Gabbert just around the corner.

"We had concerns in the secondary going into the season,'' Illini defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said. "Now you have two of the better players out. Some of these other guys have to step up and play.''

Sophomore running back Justin Green and redshirt freshman receiver Steve Hull moved to defense, apparently with the idea of making immediate impact in the two-deep. Green played cornerback with the first-string defense Thursday, he said, after cornerback Tavon Wilson was moved to safety.

At the end of practice Thursday, Green stood in Wilson's spot at cornerback with Wilson at safety with junior Trulon Henry. After practice, Koenning sounded edgy about making so many position changes this close to the opener against Missouri on Sept. 4.

"We're relearning,'' Koenning said. "We haven't been perfect there (at safety) by any means in reading our keys. It's almost going back to the basics and the fundamentals. It's not the best thing for a coach. You'd like to be game-planning, yet you're going back to square one."

Zook didn't shoot down the possibility of Green starting.

"I don't think there's any question,'' Zook said. "He'll be on the field. I don't know where he'll be.''

Ohio State recruited Green as a defensive back, but Green opted for Illinois and the chance to play running back, although his family pleaded with him to move back to defense prior to this season, Green said. He moved to defense on Tuesday, because of the loss of Aikens and the depth at running back.

Cincinnati recruited Hull to play safety. Although he was listed on the two-deep, Hull moved to safety midway through practice Wednesday and grabbed an interception Thursday. His jump to defense was made easier by the playmaking ability of freshman receivers Darius Millines and Ryan Lankford.

Sanni underwent surgery Thursday in Urbana and will miss six to 12 months. He has a redshirt year available.